Letting Loose
by AMM3485
Summary: Lacey is asked to be a co-author to a famous author. This is her chance of a lifetime, little does she realize that writing this novel is going to change everything. - On Hold see profile for details.
1. Chapter 1

It was another Saturday night and Lacey was dressed in a skin tight skirt and a scandalous shirt. She had her hair up and curled around her round face. She was wearing light make up and she was ready. She stepped through the door of the 650 club and the music was blazing. She smiled to herself as she moved through the huge torrents of people that mobbed through the club. This was her ritual. She always came alone and always left alone.

She moved toward the dance floor and smiled. She started to rock her hips with the beat of the song as she let the rhythm take a hold of her body. She sexily swung her hips to the Reggae beat that the DJ was spinning. She lost herself in the clutter of the dance floor. She welcomed the haze of the smoke machine and the strobe lights. Her hands moved above her head as she continued to work her body to the beat.

She didn't take notice of the stares of some of the guys at the bar. All that mattered was losing herself in the rhythm and beat and throwing away all of her inhibitions. She felt a hand move up her side as someone molded their body to hers from behind. She moved with him to the noise. He kept up with her movements and she threw caution to the wind. Just a normal Saturday night routine.

Four songs later and she was still going strong. The guys behind her leaned over and asked if she would like something to drink. She shook her head and kept her body moving to the Hip Hop song that was playing. She twirled her hands above her head as her dancing partner moved his hands down her hips. She moved her hands down on top of his and lifted his hands above her head as they grinded to the song.

When the song ended she pulled her phone from the corner of her bra and saw the time. She turned around and faced her mysterious dancing partner for the first time, he was fairly attractive and he was a good five inches taller than her. He had deep blue eyes and dusty brown hair. For a white boy, he had major rhythm she thought to herself.

"I have to go, thanks for the dance." She smiled and he returned the sentiment with a dumbstruck expression. She weaved through the crowd and walked out of the club. The cold air hit her in the face and cooled her sweat coated body. She winked at the bouncers standing at the door that she saw every Saturday.

"Never stay long do you?" One of bulky man asked as he waved down a taxi from the street for her. She smiled up at him as a taxi pulled up and he opened the door for her.

"Just have to relieve the stress, John you know how it is. . ." John smiled down at her, his bald head shining in the fluorescent light above the club.

"Be careful on your way home Lacey, I'll see you next week." She smiled as she got in the car.

"I always am. Thanks don't throw your back out again and have a good night!" She smiled as she brought up a little incident a couple of weeks prior.

"You're never going to let me forget that are you?" He asked in mock sadness.

"Not when I see you hunched over in pain in my head every time I see you. It was pretty hilarious, if only I had had a digital camera." She smiled sweetly as he scowled.

"You're getting to old for this, John."

"I know, but I get to see sexy women like you on a regular basis, I can't help but be drawn to killing my back every night."

She rolled her eyes at his playful flirting. "Night, John. Night, Calvin." She said to the man still standing at the door, he waved as he was in mid-conversation with some naked toothpick; she shook her head at his taste.

He smiled at her, "Night Lace."

Lacey and waved as he closed the door of the taxi and Lacey watched him walk back over to the entrance and throw on his perfected bouncer scowl

It took Lacey forty-five minutes to get home. She was glad to be in her apartment as she peeled off the revealing clothing and tossed them into the basket stepping into her bathroom and turning on the shower. She moved towards her counter and removed the contact lenses and pulled her hair down. She stepped into the scalding water and removed the muck of sweat and make up from her body. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her thick body. Her tan complexion glimmered with water droplets as she dried herself off and slipped into some stretch pants and a baggy shirt.

She towel dried her auburn hair and tied it up with a hair band. She moved around her apartment, shutting off the lights. She climbed into bed and couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. She had danced away the stress of the week and now all she had left was that funny warm tingly feeling of accomplishment. She closed her eyes and drifted into a fitting slumber.

Ǻ

"Lacey McNevin, right?"

"Yes sir, it is." Lacey answered as she walked out of the elevator on the third floor of the publishing company on Monday morning. "I just got in sir; do you need me to get you anything?"

"Actually, I was told to send you to Mr. Jones' office once you arrived. I can take the things in your hands to your desk for you." Lacey looked shocked and her mouth was in a perfect "o". The secretary stood from the circular desk and grabbed the books and purse that she was carrying. He moved them onto his circular desk in front of them and walked back over to her shocked body standing in the middle of the hallway.

"B-b-b-but I'm an intern." She spit out looking up at the secretary's amused face.

"And it seems like you stand out enough for Mr. Jones to ask to speak with you." He paused. "You may want to breathe if you plan on walking into his office." Lacey blinked and took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "You okay?" She weakly nodded. "Okay, just breathe and everything will be alright, it would suck to have to call an ambulance if you cracked you head open on the tile." She laughed meekly.

She took another deep breath trying to quell the knots springing up in her stomach. She plastered on a nervous smile. "I guess I should go see what he wants, right?"

"Yeah, you should, and don't call me sir." He smiled at her as she nodded and headed towards the elevator. She couldn't help but wonder what the hell the CEO of Jackson & Jones Publishing wanted with her. She stepped in and pressed the button for the 20th floor. She'd never even been up that far before. Normally she'd be freaking out about how far up she was going in the elevator, but all she could think about was the meeting getting ready to take place.

She patted down invisible wrinkles in her shirt as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. She walked out and looked around at the modern set up of the floor. The walls were painted a deep red and were black couches set in the lounge area to Lacey's left. To her right was a huge window showing the magnificent view of Downtown Los Angeles. She smiled while looking out the window. She loved the view but hated the fact that you had to use the elevator to get up this high. She hated elevators.

She was so caught up that she forgot what she was on that floor for. A man in his early thirties walked up to her. He was easily a head taller than her and his suit was impeccable. He held his hands behind his back and smiled at how caught up she was with the view. His shoulder length hair was an inch away from his shoulders. He stepped a little closer to her and looked over her shoulder.

"This view is spectacular, don't you agree Ms. McNevin?"

Lacey jumped. She held her hand to head and looked at the man behind her as the light cascaded over his slightly browned skin. She took a deep breath feeling completely embarrassed as his face bore a knowing smirk. "Mr. Jones, you scared the crap out of me." 'Nice way to talk to the CEO, smartass!' she thought scolding herself mentally for the way she responded to his presence.

"I do apologize, I did know you would react that way, I have a twisted sense of humor, or so I've been told." Lacey cocked her head a little to the side before she let out a whimsical laugh. "Please come with me, Ms. McNevin, I am pretty sure you want to know why I've called you up here." She nodded as he began to walk and she followed. He walked past an empty desk and into the first room on the left in the huge hallway and she followed him in.

His office was spacious and had the same color schemes as the hallway except instead of tile he had a dark green carpet. He had a huge wooden desk that was surprisingly neat and there were two chairs in the front of his deck. They looked they were carved from blood red oak and they matched the desk. There was a black couch against the wall and a huge window behind his desk.

"You office is incredible, sir." He smiled at her motioning for her to sit and she sat on the left as he took a seat behind the desk.

"Thank you, I spend so much time in here, I needed to make sure that I was comfortable." He paused. "Onto business. Did you know that most interns that work here don't submit writing samples with their applications? Let alone do they submit 7 completely different pieces, all completely independent of each other and in a different style of writing, Ms. McNevin."

Lacey looked down and blushed. She had thought it was good to show she had range, but now it seemed a little overzealous.

"When I saw your application a couple of months ago, I decided you were very talented. I've been keeping tabs on you and now an opportunity has arisen." Lacey's head shot up, half out of shock and half out of excitement. She straightened her glasses and smiled.

"You go through the applications, sir? I thought you had a hiring manager."

"No," he waved his hand and scooted forward towards his desk, "It's too impersonal. I know everyone's name that is employed in this company, although I hardly get the time to talk considering how busy I usually am. My girlfriend hates me for it by the way. And I of course have the habit of rambling, which I'm doing now. Sorry"

Lacey chuckled, "It's okay; I do the same thing. So what's this new project that you wanted to talk about?" She asked gently steering him in the direction of her visit.

"Rhys Wickliffe needs a co-writer for his next novel. I forwarded yours and several of your colleagues' pieces to him and he has asked for you specifically to be his co-writer."

Shock rippled across Lacey's face and her jaw slackened and fell open leaving her to gawk at her boss. 'Nofuckingway Nofuckingway Nofuckingway. . .' Lacey's mind just repeated the phrase over and over as her boss watched the apparent shock of her features. He looked like he was holding back his laughter. Lacey blinked once, then blinked again, trying to wrap her head around this concept. "W-what, I think I heard you wrong. Did you just say Rhys Wickliffe?"

Mr. Jones smiled and set his clasped hands on the desk, leaning closer. "Yes, I did. You know his writing, do you not, Ms. McNevin?"

"Call me Lacey, please." She mumbled trying to get her head around the fact the she was just asked to co-write a book with one of the top authors in the company. She took a deep breath. And then it hit her, this was her chance to become famous. She would finally start her dream. She smiled looking up at Mr. Jones. "Yes, I do, sir, I would be more than thrilled to help him."

"Good. He should be here in a matter of minutes. I'll send him to your office when he arrives." Her grin broadened as nodded and stood. She turned for the door. "And Lacey." She turned, "Congratulations." Her grin was huge.

"Thank you sir, thank you for all of this."

"It was purely my pleasure." With his last words she turned and headed towards the elevator. She waited for the elevator strumming her hands on the console. The doors opened and she stepped inside pressing three.

When the doors closed she looked around and screamed, "Oh my God!" She started to do a victory dance around the elevator until it dinged. She immediately straightened herself before the doors opened. When they opened she stepped out and looked at the secretary in front of her. He gave her a smile and a wink. He had to have known.

She walked passed him to go to her cubicle when he stepped out and grabbed her arm. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." Her smile still huge across her face.

"You do know you're going the wrong way, don't you?" She raised an eyebrow at him. Your office is around the other corner. I'll show you, come on." He pulled her before she could respond. He opened a door and Lacey was floored. All of her possessions from that morning sat on the desk, one very similar to her bosses and she had a bookcase full of books. There was a black loveseat along the wall and a huge window behind her desk. The seats cushions were black and matched the loveseat but the wood matched her desk. Her eyes were wide as she eyed the bookcase and noticed they were full of Rhys Wickliffe's books along with some of her other favorite authors.

She turned to look at the secretary. "It was all Mr. Jones' idea. I just did the moving."

"Thank you John!" She rushed to hug him. He gave her a squeeze.

"No problem, there's a note on your desk also, boss." He turned and left before she could say anything else. She moved to the desk and spotted said note. She opened it and read.

'_Ms. McNevin, I took the liberty of moving you from a cubicle to an office. I hope you realized that your offer came with a promotion. The bookcase is full of reference material for you to look over so you know Mr. Wickliffe's writing style ahead of time, but from what I read on your application, he's one of your favorite authors, so it's just a precaution. John is your personal secretary now and he did most of the leg work for your office. And before you call me to say thank you, you're sincerely welcome. Good luck on your project with Mr. Wickliffe, I'm positive that you two together will create an incredible novel._

_Enjoy your new office,_

_Tobias Jones'_

Lacey sat back in her chair with her hand over her eyes. She spun and looked out at her view. "Utterly incredible." She said to herself looking down at the city and the cars congesting the street.

"This city is pretty beautiful." A man said in a British accent walking in. Lacey turned her chair and was surprised at how gorgeous the man in front of her was. He had to have been over 6'5 and he had blond hair and piercing green eyes. He was well built and his gray t-shirt and slacks complimented him in every way. He had an angular jaw and Lacey had the fleeting urge to run her lips across his white skin. Her eyes snapped to his and she saw a gorgeous smile light up his eyes. "I'm Rhys Wickliffe." He offered a hand across the desk. Lacey took it and smiled as well.

'He looks completely different than the back of his books.' Lacy thought shaking his hand, 'He has a good grip and he is gorgeous.' "I'm Lacey McNevin. Thank you for this opportunity, sir." She waved her hand to the seat in front of her and stood to close the door and give them some privacy. She sat in the office chair and looked over at him.

"Two things, Ms. McNevin, one: you earned this opportunity on your own merit there is no need to feel in my debt and two, please call me Rhys, sir makes me feel old."

"As long as you call me Lacey." She smiled at him.

"It's a deal. Now, straight to business. I'm really excited about this new novel. I'm going with my usual supernatural type of novel but it's going to involve romance. I read your story "Caught in the Crossfire" and even though it was incomplete I liked the sparks between the characters and how even though the main character was strong she was also weak in many ways."

Lacey nodded as her brain whirled in thought. "So you want a vampire story where the main character is a vampire and the love interest is a human?"

Rhys nodded. "That is exactly right. I also wanted to keep with my theme of vampires and the way that they have evolved, but I wanted a type of monarchy versus random covens all over the world."

Lacey nodded. She went into her desk and pulled out a pad of paper and started jotting down his ideas. She looked up from her pad when she was hit with a thought. "Romantic struggles or a devious enemy?"

Rhys looked at her in thought. "Why not both? Or would that be too dramatic."

"Not too dramatic, just enough so that the reader gets tossed and turned through the novel." Lacey said, picking up her pad and glancing over it. "The inevitable question has to be asked, do you want to turn the main character?"

"Maybe, we'll just have to see where the story leads us." He gave her a smile. "Okay, where do you think it should take place?" Lacey smiled at him as he spoke.

"Why not Europe, I mean we could use L.A. but that'd be predictable. How about a small town in the UK, or we can make one up." Rhys looked at her and then his eyes brightened.

"We don't need to fabricate. I know the perfect place. I was born near it and I used to visit to relax and it has a pretty small population of 7,000."

"Where?"

"Brecon, Wales."

"That sounds good and it is pretty small, I have to look up pictures to see what it looks like, but I'm pretty sure if you think it'll work, it will." Lacey wrote on the pad as she spoke.

"Great. Well now that I know that you will be working with me, I think that I should go let my literary agent know. How about we meet up for dinner and discuss this some more. Now that we know the area, we can get started on the character dynamics."

"That would be perfect. Where did you want to head out to?"

"I actually made us reservations at a little Thai restaurant I usually go to when I'm out and about in L.A."

"I love Thai, that'll be perfect."

"Great, I'll pick you up at your place at around six, then?"

"Sounds like a plan, I can't wait to get started."

Rhys stood and nodded, "Me either. I'll see you later, then."

She nodded. "Yes, you will." Rhys smiled as he walked out of the office and closed the door.

She smiled at the door and removed her glasses, 'God damn, he was sexy. Oh my God his accent! Boy, it's going to be hard to stay on task and keep it professional around him.' She thought slumping back into the chair. She mentally slapped herself. 'This is the chance for my big break. I can't get involved with him, even if his voice is like velvet to my ears. Shit, snap out of it Lacey, you need to be professional!' Lacey leaned forward and looked over the pad that she had just written everything down on. 'Time to get cracking.' She said to herself as she closed her eyes to imagine new ideas to bring up at dinner.

Ǻ

As soon as Rhys got Lacey's number and address from her secretary, he was out the door. He walked toward the crowded street and chose a number on his phone. He moved across the parking lot until he came up to the Mercedes. He threw himself in while the phone continued to ring.

"Yeah?"

"Jesus, some kind of mate you are you don't pick up the bloody phone when I call."

"I was sleeping, like most of the continent is you bloody sod."

"What a load of shit, it's only 8pm there."

"Yeah, I admit I was lying, would you like to know that I was just shagging some bird and you woke me from my post coital bliss. I do have a few hours until I have to go to work anyway."

"I'm sorry Owen, but I need some advice." He paused. "She's gorgeous. Utterly beautiful. How the bloody hell am I supposed to be around her for six months while we write this novel if I want to shag her bloody brains out?"

"Well, mate, if you like her go for it, screw professionalism."

"You're supposed to be telling me wok comes first, and lust comes later."

"Sorry to disappoint Rhys, but that's my opinion. You know I'm the totally wrong person to pose this to, I mean, I'm Owen."

"Yeah, well, fuck, I don't know. I'll call you later so you can get on with your conquest."

"Alright, bye Rhys."

"Bye."

Rhys closed the flap of his phone and tossed it into the seat next to him. He put the keys into the ignition and starting the car. He couldn't get the picture of her out of his head. Her red hair down and around her shoulders. He shook his head. I can't like her. We have to work together and that's that. Business. Nothing more.

"This is going to be interesting. . ." He said aloud pulling out of the parking lot.

Ǻ

Lacey had gotten home at six and she rushed to get a shower. She blow dried her hair while simultaneously sorting through her clothes for something to wear. She picked out a white v neck shirt that wasn't cut too low and a pair of black slacks that hugged her hips. She slid on her undergarments and her pants. She grabbed a brush and swept her hair into a messy but smooth half ponytail and pulled on her shirt. She had just slid into some flats when the apartment intercom buzzed. She ran over to it and pressed intercom.

"Hello?"

"It's Rhys."

"Come on up." She pressed the button next to it and held it for a couple of seconds before splashing on some perfume. She looked over her reflection in the mirror. Stupendous. She smiled and slathered on some clear lip gloss as she heard Rhys knock on the door.

"Come on in its open!" She yelled from the bathroom. She heard the door open and close and she looked over her appearance once more before she walked out. Rhys was standing in her living room wearing charcoal gray Dickie pants and a blue top that made his gorgeous eyes pop.

"Hey." He said watching her as she moved towards him.

"Hey. I just have to grab my glasses and my suitcase and we can go." Rhys nodded. Lacey smiled and moved through her room grabbing her suitcase and her glasses. She came out and saw Rhys standing in her white living room looking over one of her sister's paintings hanging on the wall.

"It's my sister's work. She gave it to me a couple of years ago. Do you like it?"

"Your sister is incredibly talented. I love it."

Rhys turned at her and gave her a smile. "I love it too." Her sapphire eyes looked into his emerald green eyes. They drew her in. She blinked and with a lot of mental scolding drew her face away from his. She cleared her throat and couldn't help the smile that broadened across her face.

"Ready?" Rhys asked seemingly oblivious to the moment that they had. Lacey nodded and headed towards the apartment door. She clicked the lights and held the door open for Rhys. After he exited she locked it and began to follow him out of the apartment complex. He moved towards his car and motioned for her to get in. She nodded and opened the door.

'Typical guy to be oblivious to the sparks that flew between us when we made eye contact,' she thought to herself grumpily as he pulled out of the parking space. She looked over at him.

"How hard is it to drive on the other side of the road?" She asked to break the silence.

"It's pretty confusing, but I've gotten used to it as many times as I've come out here." He responded taking minimal glances in her direction as he continued to steer the car. "You live so far from your job."

"Yeah, I live in Woodland Hills because L.A. really isn't an ideal living place for me. I don't really mind the commute."

"You grew up out here?"

She chuckled. "No, I grew up in Long Beach. My parents still live out there. I just chose to get away from the craziness. It's not horrible don't get me wrong but I just like it out here a little better. Where did you grow up?"

"Merthyr Tydfil, it is a little bit north of Cardiff in the southern UK. It was smile compared to here, but anything is small compared to most of the cities in Southern California. It's pretty much the opposite of L.A. Most of the UK despises it, but I love it. I still have my childhood home out there, but I spend most of my time in London because I'm always doing projects and signings out there." He paused. "I know this is a random question, but what race are you?"

Lacey laughed, "Don't worry I get it all of the time. I'm Irish and Black. I'm some freak of nature I know with the red hair and green eyes, and being black but I guess it works out."

"You're not a freak, the genes just garnered to your favor." Rhys flashed a devastating smile and she smiled right back. They sat in companionable silence as they drove the last five minutes to the restaurant.

Rhys pulled the car to a stop on an uncrowded side street. He smiled at her. "We're here."

Lacey smiled back and grabbed her suitcase and opened the door. They walked side by side towards this really tiny place that resembled a tiny shop from Chinatown. It had Thai letters across the top. Rhys opened the door and motioned for her to move forward. Rhys followed her into the dimly lit restaurant.

Lacey was shocked at how comfy and homey it felt. There was light jazz playing and there were twenty booths lining the walls. They all had a candle in the middle on top of a pristine white tablecloth. They walls were scarlet and there were several patrons in the restaurant already silently eating and chatting with each other.

Ǻ

While Lacey was so busy being amazed by the restaurant Rhys watched her face as it lit up as she took in his favorite L.A. restaurant. Rhys loved her smile and he had never noticed her sapphire eyes before. When they made eye contact it took all of his power to not ravage her mouth.

Rhys looked over and saw the hostess and he tapped Lacey's shoulder. She didn't drop her smile as he placed his hand on the small of her back to guide her toward the direction the hostess walked. He looked down and realized what he was doing and immediately removed his hand. Business.

They sat on opposite sides of the booth and the hostess took their drink orders and left them to decide on what they wanted to eat. Rhys decided on Pad Thai and he closed his menu and looked over at Lacey.

"What are you looking at?"

"Khao Phad."

"Ah, a classic. Did you want some soup? They make some great Wonton Noodle Soup."

"Yeah, that will be perfect."

She smiled again. God I love her smile. Shit. Business, Rhys! Rhys smiled back.

The waitress came with their drinks and they ordered. Lacey dug in her suitcase for the notepad. Rhys let out a breath happy that he could focus on work now.

"Did you check up on Brecon?"

"Yeah, I saw a couple of pictures. I think it will be perfect. You'll have to do most of the describing though, considering that you've been there and I haven't."

"About that, I usually stay in the town that I'm writing about, just to give more validity and substance to my settings and vibe of the place."

Lacey who was sipping her Thai iced tea nearly choked. "You mean you want us to go to the U.K. to write our novel?"

"If it's okay with you, that's what I usually do. I mean if you don't want to I understand."

"No, I just didn't expect that. I guess we could, I've just never been out of the country let alone on a plane. I have enough problems on elevators." Her eyes widened. "I can't believe I just told you that I'm agoraphobic." She slapped her hand against her forehead and closed her eyes.

"Don't worry about it, really." He paused and waited for her to open her eyes. "Want to know a secret? I have Coulrophobia, a fear of clowns."

Lacey's head shot up and she had a tiny smile, "Really, clowns?"

"Yeah I saw that Stephen King movie when I was younger and it really messed me up. I have a handle on it now though." Lacey looked at him and he could see her smile getting broader and the laughter dancing in her eyes. He smiled as she snorted and fell back in a fit of laughter. He started to laugh as well. Her laughter was contagious and it was like music to his ears. He threw his head back in laughter.

When they both got out all of their laughter the waitress came with their soup and they began to eat and get down to serious business.

"The main character will be a vampire, so I was thinking he could be British and his description would be: 6'5, Green eyes, a little muscular, sleek black hair, and he could be around 600 years old, is that okay?" Rhys smiled at her after shoveling a wonton into his mouth. He noticed that the character resembled him a little, but said nothing. He nodded.

"And then," she continued, "I was thinking that the girl could be either on vacation or studying abroad in Brecon. As far as the bad guy, he was the dude that turned our good guy against his will, and maybe he slaughtered his whole family beforehand and left him to suffer through grief for the rest of eternity."

"That's really great. I like it all. Did you want me to think of our heroin's description?" Lacey nodded. "Okay, maybe 5'5, deep blue eyes, A curvy body, she could be American and race she could be mulatto." Lacey took a bite of soup and started to scribble on her pad.

"Oh, a plot point?"

"Shoot." Lacey stated still writing.

"Heroin is staying at an inn with her best friend and the bad guy attacks and kills everyone. He takes a liking to her and saves her for last. He begins torturing her when good guy swoops in and saves her. Oh a potential angst point she doesn't know he is a vampire because she passes out from fright."

"Okay, I know the guy saves girl part is inevitable, but passing out from fear? Really now. Why doesn't she pass out from blood loss? She doesn't have to be so weak, Rhys. Other than that I like it." She looked up at Rhys and he nodded.

It was a really good idea to get her advice; this novel needed a female touch. The waitress came with the food and set the rice in front of Lacey and the shrimp and noodles in front of Rhys. He smiled and thanked her as she refilled his Orange Bang.

"Okay eat now, work later." Rhys stated putting his hand on top of Lacey's to stop her from writing on the pad. She looked up at him and exhaled in defeat and replaced her pen with a fork. They ate a little before either said anything.

"What about turning her right when he finds her because he has no choice? Turn or die."

Rhys raised an eyebrow. "Can you relax and eat for twenty minutes?"

Lacey exhaled and shoved some rice forcefully into her mouth. Rhys laughed and shoveled up some more noodles. "How many siblings do you have?" Rhys asked, sick of the silence. He always despised unnecessary silence.

"Oh there Victoria, the painter, and Jack, the lawyer. Do you have any siblings?"

"Nope, I was an only child. It was just my mom and me against the world, but I had a lot of friends when I was growing up and we're still pretty close today, we think of each other as brothers and not just mates. My best friend whom I've known since I was five is a bouncer at the hottest pub in London and he uses his position to shag everything that moves. It's pathetic really."

Lacey laughed into her rice and Rhys chuckled with her. "How old are you?"

"I'm 21; I've got about a month until I hit 22. You?"

"25."

"Okay, your book jackets are as cryptic as Homeland security, why is that?"

"I value my privacy, I use my real name but I try to stay really private. That's why I used an altered picture on the jacket."

"HA! I knew it!" Lacey exclaimed, and then covered her mouth as a set of giggles slid out. "I knew you didn't look like that picture. I mean you're my favorite author and I was shocked to not recognize you when you came into my office this morning."

Rhys raised an eyebrow. "I'm your favorite author?"

"Well yeah. I mean I love your novels. I'm glad you're branching out with your style though, it would really widen your vast fan base."

"Thanks." Rhys said pushing his plate next to the empty soup bowl and the leftovers.

"I'm done as well, so back to the question: Change or die?"

"I don't think the hero would want to put someone in same predicament as he was in, so I say no."

Lacey nodded, "Makes sense. And we need names too. You get the guy and I'll get the girl and we'll compromise with the bad guy, deal?" Rhys nodded.

"Okay how about Angelica, Ang for short?"

"That works, Andreis for our hero?"

"Oh, what does that mean?"

Rhys broke into a smile, "Rising of the sun."

Lacey shook her head and start chuckling. "I love it!"

"Evil guy could be Ianto?"

"I was thinking something else, how about Abhimakar? It's Hindu for a war starter."

"That's bloody perfect! Where did you learn that from?"

Lacey smiled, "I love history so I took a lot of classes when I was in school."

Rhys smiled, "Angelica, Andreis, and Abhimakar. Oh shite, they're all 'A' names."

"I think they fit perfectly."

"Me too. Let's keep them." He paused. "Are we going to still go to Brecon?"

"Yeah. We can talk to my boss about it tomorrow morning. He'll probably get us some cash so we can stay over there without going completely broke."

"I have a summer house where we can stay. I haven't been there in years, though."

"You know you're just full of surprises." Rhys smiled at her and grabbed the check before she could.

She opened her mouth and he cut off her protest, "I'll pay the check, and don't even think of trying to pay me back. I refuse to let you." Lacey furrowed her brow and frowned as he handed the waitress his card. She came back and he typed his pin into the machine. Five minutes they were in the car heading back to her apartment.

"That restaurant was amazing; I can't believe that no one knows about it. It's like a well kept secret."

Rhys laughed, "I love that about it, it's the perfect atmosphere to relax in."

Lacey nodded and laid her head on the window of the door. Rhys looked over and noted her relaxed posture and her steady breathing and smiled, she was asleep. She was beautiful and intelligent. She had no problem speaking her mind either when she stopped him from making Angelica weak in the novel. She just had this aura around her that made her irresistible.

Rhys turned onto the freeway and he couldn't help but look over at her again. She looked so peaceful in her sleep. He smiled again and turned his attention back to the road. Ten minutes later they had pulled up to her apartment. Lacey was still asleep and Rhys hated waking her up, but he had to. He leaned over to her ear and whispered, "Lacey we've arrived at your apartment." He couldn't help but admire her scent. It was fruity with a hint of roses.

Ǻ

Lacey stirred and opened her eyes groggily. She looked out of the car and realized that they were sitting outside of her apartment building and that she had fallen asleep on the way back. She rubbed her eyes and looked over at Rhys who was leaning a little over the gear shift and Lacey felt like a complete idiot.

"I'm so sorry I didn't mean to fall asleep. I didn't even realize I was tired."

"It's no problem, Lacey." Rhys clicked his seatbelt and hers. "I'll walk you in." Lacey opened her mouth to protest and was cut off again by Rhys, "I insist." Lacey nodded and grabbed her suitcase and stepped out of the car stretching. She walked forward and Rhys was by her side. She walked up the front door and unlocked it. She headed in and went right in the direction of her apartment. She got to her door and opened it.

"Did you want some coffee or anything?" She asked after yawning.

"I would rather you go to sleep before you fall down in the doorway." She chuckled and Rhys smiled. His smile was so handsome, He was so gorgeous. That's a face she would like to wake up to. She shook the thoughts from her head mentally, business.

"Thank you for the food. I really appreciate you paying for it. I had a really great time and I think this novel is turning out to be incredible." Lacey looked up at him, she should have worn heals, the lucky bastard was more than a head taller than her.

"I had a really great time too, and I think that it was a brilliant idea to enlist your help." Lacey smiled at his comment.

"I guess I'll see you at work tomorrow then, what time were you going to stop by?"

"About noon, I wanted to call some old friends and make sure everything is ready in Brecon for us when we get there."

"Great, I'll see you then, good night and thanks again."

Rhys nodded. "Sweet dreams, Lacey."

Lacey closed the door and out the locks in place. She smiled to the empty room. He is fucking hot; I can't believe he's that gorgeous. She practically skipped into her room throwing down her suitcase and glasses and stripping to get into the shower. Ten minutes later she was clad in her pajamas and her towel was wrapped around her hair. She had all of novel notes out on the bed and she was going over them.

This novel was going to great. It would be fun to write and it would also be interesting writing the romance scenes with Mr. Sexiness next to her, but it had to be done. She pulled the papers together and put the on her black nightstand. She squeezed her hair in the towel and took the towel off. She threw it in the general direction of her light switch and hit it. She mentally did a dance and she flopped under her covers for some much needed rest.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I know, you hate me. I'm sorry, I really am. It's the middle of finals week right now and I have one left, so the updates should be rolling in at a much faster pace than this one, I will do my best. I decided to fix this one which I caught a hitch in a couple of weeks ago and for my Caught in the Crossfire people, I haven't started that update yet, but I'll get on it after my last final! I hope you guys like this chapter and the way that I wrote some of these scenes. Please review, it makes me happy. Thanks to the reviewers past and on with the show...**

Rhys walked out of the elevator at 11:45 ready to meet up with Lacey and talk to her boss about the traveling arrangements for their trip to Brecon

Rhys walked out of the elevator at 11:45 ready to meet up with Lacey and talk to her boss about the traveling arrangements for their trip to Brecon. He walked over to the secretary and waited for him to finish his call.

John smiled at Rhys once he put the phone on the hook. "I'm supposed to meet Ms. McNevin, we're supposed to be meeting up with Mr. Jones in 15 minutes."

John nodded. "She told me to just send you in when you arrived." Rhys smiled.

"Thank you." Rhys replied walking around the desk.

"No problem, sir." John replied as Rhys walked up to the office and tapped lightly to get Lacey's attention. Today her hair was tied up and she was wearing a blouse and navy skirt. She was as beautiful as ever. She shoved her glasses up higher on her face and looked up. A dazzling smile lit her face.

"Hi Rhys, give me a minute I just want to get this paragraph done."

Rhys moved into the office and took a seat across from her. "No worries." Rhys looked over her shoulder and saw the outline of the buildings outside as the sunshine reflected off of them. They may not have been high up, but the view was sill beautiful. He loved the hustle and bustle of the city, growing up in a fairly small town he was amazed to see everyone in a hurry like they were in L.A.

Lacey was typing quickly while Rhys looked outside and after a couple of minutes she sat back. She plastered a smile that reeked of accomplishment onto her face and Rhys couldn't help but be captivated by her personality. "Done. Mr. Jones is expecting us, I emailed him when I got in this morning."

"That's great. Are you ready to head on up?"

"Yep." Lacey rose from her seat and Rhys followed suit. She grabbed her jacket off of the back of the chair and slipped it on walking towards the door. She and Rhys stepped out and walked out of the office. Lacey closed the door and moved towards the elevators.

She stopped to tell John where she was going and smiled at Rhys when he pushed the call button. The elevator dinged in front of them and opened. They both stepped in and Lacey pressed the top floor button. She rested her head back on the wall and Rhys couldn't help but notice the curve of her neck.

"The summer home should be ready when we arrive and I kind of told my mom we'd visit when I called, that's not a problem is it?"

Lacey opened her eyes and smiled, "No problem at all."

"I could even show you around my home town and take to all of the tourist places if you like, considering it's your first time visiting and all."

"I would love that, Rhys, thank you."

"It would be my pleasure." Rhys smiled at her but he couldn't help but notice the tenseness of her shoulders.

The elevator shook slightly and Lacey gave a small squeak. Rhys began to move towards her when the elevator made a grinding noise and stopped all together. The lights flickered, but they luckily stayed on. Rhys moved toward Lacey to calm her down as she started to shake.

"Lacey." He moved towards her and pulled her into a hug he rocked her slowly. "I'm here, okay? That door is the way out and when they fix the elevator that is how we're going to get out." He was whispering soothingly into her ear.

She was still shaking and her chest was moving rapidly Rhys could feel her heart going crazy. Lacey kept shaking her head fiercely and Rhys could feel her tears soaking his shirt.

"Lacey, just listen to my voice and breathe. We're going to get out of here okay. Just breathe slowly in and out. We're in here together. You're not alone, okay?"

Lacey was still shaking but slowly her breathing became normal. He could hear her sniffling and figured her tears were slowing. "Let's sit down okay?" Lacey nodded weakly and Rhys slid them both to the ground and she was in his lap and their legs were in front of them. He still gently rocked her shaking body. He needed to get her mind off of the elevator or else she was going to have a panic attack. A story. Yes, tell her a story.

"You want to here a story?" He plowed on without waiting for an answer, "When I was about thirteen me and my mates played football all of the time on this field by school. I had tackled my friend Owen when someone tossed him the ball and somehow I broke his nose. Needless to say the game ended and I felt totally horrible about his nose. I went home with blood all over my shorts and mud on my trainers. As soon as I walked into the house and my mom spotted me, she asked me if I had finally started my period."

Rhys felt Lacey's giggles before he heard them and he laughed with her. "Alright then, time for your embarrassing story." Rhys said squeezing her with his legs slightly.

"When I was younger, maybe ten or eleven they used to have this slip and slide during summer vacation." Lacey voice was weak but got stronger as she continued to relive her memory, "It was my turn and I had on bathing suit bottoms and a shirt and when I slid everyone got the perfect view of my ass. I pulled up my bottoms but the damage was done. All of the older kids kept asking me how my ass was doing, it was so horrible." Lacey covered her mouth as a giggle escaped and Rhys felt the laughter rising in his chest and before he realized it he was laughing loudly along with Lacey's giggles.

"When I was seventeen my mom walked in on me and my then girlfriends heated snogging session in my room and she asked us of we needed a condom. We immediately jumped apart and my mom closed the door, but I could her laughing in the kitchen." Lacey laughed lightly.

"I can do you one better, when my brother discovered that I had a boyfriend his age when I was sixteen he stormed in on us making out and flipped. He told the guy he was going to cut off his balls for being such a pedophile and that if he ever saw me again he was going to slit his throat, right in assuming I haven't seen Victor since." Rhys laughed happy that Lacey had stopped shaking and that she was actually laughing.

"I was sleeping on a plane a couple of years ago and the plane hit a patch of rough turbulence. I jumped up and grabbed for the armrest, but I missed and grabbed the crotch of the guy next to me." Rhys said shaking his head as Lacey leaned and put the back of her head onto his shoulder and laughed loudly.

"When I finally got the nerve to ask out my crush in high school, it turns out he was gay and everyone knew it but me." Lacey's voice was heavy with laughter. Rhys snorted.

"When I was younger, maybe grade three or four, I had this crush on a girl and she accidentally broke the top of her perfume bottle so I got one of the forbidden kitchen knives to open the bottle and I stabbed the top to get it off. Well, I was a bloody horrible shot and I ended up stabbing the shit out of my finger. Me, the girl, and my mates all started yelling at all the blood gushing out of my finger." Lacey giggled loudly. "I started screaming bloody murder at the top of my lungs telling them to call Emergency Services because I was dying." Lacey's laughter grew louder as she tried to calm it down. "My mum came into the kitchen as we were screaming and even as I was bleeding all over the place she scolded me for being such a little moron and that I deserved to bleed all over the floor. As it turns out, the cut wasn't deep enough to need stitches and my mother banned me from the kitchen until I turned eighteen."

Lacey shook her head as she laughed at Rhys. "I was in sixth grade and I felt like total crap but I was forced to go to school by my mom. I ended up throwing up on one of the most popular guys in school, and that's not even the worst part. The throw up got on my eye, it was stuck shut. I couldn't see and everyone around me laughed and embarrassed me. I was the school joke for that entire year and I was never even close to becoming popular." Rhys laughed at the image of a vomit covered Lacey while Lacey continued to get blush from embarrassment and the continued laughter.

"My mates bet me something and I lost. As a result I had to shave my head and my eyebrows. They called me a naked mole rat for months afterwards. It was so embarrassing, I never made any bets with them after that, those months were mortifying." Lacey laughed as a picture of Rufus from Kim Possible popped into her head.

."When I was thirteen my cat killed a rat in the backyard. My brother picked it up, against my squealing protests and he chased me around the house with it. I was screaming at the top of my lungs and I almost peed on myself while everyone else laughed until they cried."

"I walked in on my mom having sex when I was eighteen and she was singing 'God Save the Queen'."

"Oh my God! You so win!" Lacey squealed as she exclaimed into a huge bout of laughter as Rhys shook his head.

"I think she scarred me for life." Rhys laughed loudly. "I get flashbacks of it every time I hear that song and it makes me want to take fireplace pokers and gouge out my eyeballs."

Lacey leaned her head back so she could meet his eyes. "It's a good thing you didn't, I like your eyes." Rhys looked down at her face and saw they were clear of tears and as beautiful and captivating as ever. Her stare pulled his face closer to hers and she turned her body so they were face to face. Rhys couldn't help but want to feel her mouth against his. She leaned in closer and he could feel her breath mingling with his. Her eyes became hooded and the elevator gave a violent shrug throwing her forehead against his.

"Ow." Rhys and Lacey said simultaneously as they both rubbed their foreheads. The elevator doors opened on the top floor. Mr. Jones was standing at the doors along with what Rhys assumed was his secretary.

"Mr. Wickliffe, Lacey, are you guys okay, you were stuck for an hour. I do sincerely apologize, that has never happened before."

"We're fine, Mr. Jones." Rhys said grunting as he pushed himself off of the floor. He held his hand out and Lacey took it with a nod as he helped her stand.

"We're fine, sir, it wasn't your fault, don't worry about it." Lacey said dusting off her skirt.

Mr. Jones nodded, "On with the meeting, then?"

Lacey nodded, "Yes, sir."

Ǻ

Thirty minutes later Rhys and Lacey walked out of the office and into the lobby. Mr. Jones had agreed on paying the traveling fare for their trip and even agreed to give them money to go sight seeing and pay for the other various expenses they would come upon on their trip.

Lacey looked at Rhys who craned his neck towards the staircase, "Fancy a walk?"

Lacey laughed, "I thought you would never ask." Rhys opened the door and motioned for Lacey to move into the stairway.

Lacey couldn't help but feel weak and stupid about the way she reacted in the elevator. But she could still remember the way that Rhys held her and calmed her down. He was her rock and she couldn't help but feel like she should have kissed him when she was in the elevator. The way that his eyes showed concern for her, no one had ever held her when she cried before.

Lacey turned mid-step and looked at Rhys who was walking behind her. "Thank you for what you did in the elevator. I really appreciated it."

Rhys shook his head, "No thanks necessary, Lacey. I'm sure you would the same thing for me if some clown walked up to me on the street." Lacey chuckled and gently shook her head.

"Well, thank you anyway," she paused, "You tell anyone about my ass and I'll kick yours."

"As long as you keep quiet about my period, I think we'll be even." Lacey nodded and started whistling "My Country 'Tis of Thee," which is coincidently the same melody as "God Save the Queen". Rhys moaned loudly and Lacey laughed devilishly and smiled at Rhys as he covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. Lacey removed her heels and bound down the stairs laughing, shoes in hand.

"That's not bloody funny, Lacey." Rhys shouted running after her. It took him five laughter filled floors to catch her and when he did he pinned her to the wall and started tickling her. Lacey was in crying laughter screaming bouts of Uncle, but Rhys showed no mercy. That was until an employee opened the staircase door, wondering what the racket was. Rhys pulled away guiltily muttering something that sounded like, "She started it. . ." The business man just looked between them and shook his head and returned to his floor.

Rhys looked over at Lacey who was hiding a smile as she picked up her heals and continued the task of 5 more flights until she got to her office. "You so started it Rhys." She whispered so her voice wouldn't carry and echo all the way like her laughter had.

"Yeah right, you hummed the song knowing what would happen."

"You chased me."

"You ran." Lacey turned and gave him a fake scowl that Rhys laughed at.

"You caught me and refused to let me go after I surrendered." She shot back reaching the seventh level.

"Okay, I admit you cried uncle, but you deserved it." Rhys countered.

"Bite me, I can hum whatever song I like. . ." Lacey mumbled under her breath.

"Yeah you can, but do expect the consequences to be uncomfortable and very well executed." Lacey turned and looked at him. He winked. 'Oh my God is he flirting with me?!' Lacey exclaimed in her head, but she couldn't help but slide in another sly comment.

"I can take anything you dish out Period Boy!" Lacey exclaimed loud enough that it echoed in the staircase.

Rhys' face showed shock as Lacey turned to look at him. She saw his eye twitch and took off down the stairs. Rhys was hot on her trail and right before he could grab her she burst out of the staircase and onto the third floor. She smiled mischievously as she heard Rhys swear from the staircase.

John came from standing by the desk and walked over to her and eyed Rhys as he stepped out of the door looking slightly winded, as did she.

"What are you guys ten, the entire building heard you guys in there." He quickly chastised and Lacey immediately felt guilty for her professionalism momentarily leaving her. "I may have thought it was funny and you guys deserved a laugh after the whole elevator thing, but the stairway echoes, people." He paused. "Did I hear you call him period boy?"

Lacey's eyes widened as she looked over at Rhys who was glaring at her, "Dude, you are so dead." Was all that he said and Lacey couldn't contain her laughter any longer, she broke into a fit of giggles that turned into a sidesplitting laugh as Rhys and an obviously lost John were staring at her.

"I'm sorry just the question and the way that you sounded so surfer dude when you said that that I couldn't help myself." She said holding her stomach and using the other hand to wipe her tearing eyes.

John just shook his head and turned to return to his desk. He stopped and turned. "Someone named Victoria called about you blowing off her phone calls. She said to tell you that your mother is pretty upset about Sunday dinner and upon hearing that I was answering your phone she wanted me to tell you that you should have called her when you got a promotion and she said she's telling."

Lacey smacked her hand to her head. "Shit."

Rhys looked at a still confused John and offered him a reprieve on his confusion, "Her sister." John had a knowing look and nodded.

"I completely forgot about the dinner for my sister. My mom is probably pissed. Crap! If she figures out I got promoted and didn't tell her she is going to flip." She paused and looked up at Rhys with a sly smile. "Unless, I bring home someone famous to dinner with me tonight."

Rhys looked horrified, "No way, I'm not a little puppy you bring to class for show and tell."

"Please, Rhys. I promise we won't stay longer than we have to, but she'll be liable to kill me. Please, please, please." Lacey said walking closer and sticking out her lip. Rhys laughed at her desperation and John smiled watching the two interact. "I'll do all the cooking while we're in Brecon." Rhys raised an eyebrow. "I'll clean up the house." Both of Rhys' eyebrows shot up. "I'll do your laundry. Please!! Rhys, I'm begging you."

"Alright, I'll do it. But you owe me." Rhys said shaking his head.

"If John hadn't just chastised me about being unprofessional I would kiss you."

John's mouth dropped open and he stared at her and Rhys was suppressing a grin unsuccessfully.

Rhys cleared his throat, "I'll be back to pick you up a little later, then. If I am positive your mother won't eat me, that is."

Lacey scowled at him, "It won't be that horrible. I promise if she goes crazy I'll protect you."

Rhys gave her a look, "Oh joy." His voice dripped with sarcasm. Lacey furrowed her brows and John looked highly amused that they had forgotten that he was there. Lacey moved closer to Rhys and looked him in the eye.

"Don't push me, period boy."

"Tell me Lacey, how is your ass doing?"

Lacey growled at Rhys as he smirked down at her. John stepped up to them and contained his laughter from the antics of the two.

"Umm. . . I hate to break up this love fest but you two are worse than my parents."

Lacey looked at John and blushed, she had indeed forgotten that he was there, let alone that she was at work. She shot another glare at Rhys and backed away. Why did he keep riling her up? Better question how did he continue to get under her skin?

"You frustrate me to no end."

Rhys smiled at her and winked, "You're too easy. What time do I need to pick you up?"

Lacey rolled her eyes, "Five should be good. Are you sure you want to do this, I could just dodge her for the rest of my life."

Rhys laughed, "No, I'll go, I just wanted to give you a hard time."

Lacey stuck her tongue out at him and he just laughed and walked back towards the staircase and threw his hand behind him in farewell. Lacey walked back to her office, closely followed by John. As soon as her butt hit the chair John spoke.

"So you and Mr. Hot-accent hooked up?"

Lacey looked at him in horror, "One: What did you call him, and two: is it that obvious that I like him?"

John sat on the loveseat and patted next to him. Lacey got up and moved next to him. "I said he's hot and the sparks definitely fly both ways, darling."

Lacey's eyes widened. "I can't like him, what about the novel?"

"You can write it before and after the sex, duh." Lacey blushed and John laughed. "Just think about it Lacey." John got up and walked out of her office. Leaving her mind a flurry of activity centering on what had happened for the past couple of hours.

Ǻ

Rhys walked up to Lacey's apartment door and knocked. Lacey again yelled for him to let himself. Rhys moved and sat down on her couch.

"You really shouldn't just leave your apartment door open, Lacey." Rhys said loudly so she could hear it wherever she was.

"I only leave it unlocked if I know your coming, I promise. But if it makes you feel better I'll open it for you when you come."

Rhys nodded to no one but himself and as afterthought he yelled, "Thanks."

Lacey came from her bedroom and Rhys couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was wearing a red cocktail dress and matching heels. The dress was simple and it clung to her curves. She had her hair tied up with chopsticks and Rhys had a sudden desire to pull them out and run his hands through her red hair. He shook the thoughts off and stood. He was torn between complimenting her and making a snide comment.

"You look great." His mouth formed the sentence before he could stop it.

"Thanks. You look good as well." Lacey said, taking in his casual slacks and dark blue shirt. Lacey grabbed her glasses off of the coffee table and put them on. She slung her purse over her shoulder and smiled. "Ready."

"Okay. Let's go." Rhys moved out the door as Lacey turned off the light and locked the door. She smiled at Rhys. All of the sudden Three Days Grace began to play as they walked to the car. Lacey pulled her cell phone out of her purse and frowned. She pressed the side and put it back in her purse.

They got into the car and Rhys was upset that whoever just called her ruined her mood. He looked around and pulled he car onto the street.

"So, do I play Rhys the author in this deal or do I play Rhys the loving boyfriend?" Rhys flashed a smile and took a quick look in Lacey's direction.

"You play Rhys the author. My Dad adores your books as well, so if he's happy my mom won't have the heart to try to skin me alive." Rhys nodded at Lacey's reasoning.

"So it's safe to assume I'll be doing some autographing?"

Lacey chuckled, "Yeah, it is," she paused, "Rhys, thank you for coming with me, you really didn't have to.

"It's no problem Lacey, your doing the same for me so it's only fair." Lacey smiled genuinely and Rhys flashed one right back.

Lacey's phone rang again and she muttered a curse. She pulled it out and pressed the send to voicemail button. Then she started pressing the numbers quickly. Rhys smirked she's a texter. She closed her phone and looked out the window. Rhys wanted to ask who kept calling her, but he decided that it wasn't really his business to know. The rest of the ride was silent, except for the directions Lacey gave him to her parent's house.

They came to a blue house and Lacey told him this was it. He parked and got out. Lacey moved towards the house and Rhys grabbed her arm lightly.

"Are you okay, Lacey?" Lacey gave a smile that didn't reach her eyes and nodded.

"Are you sure?" Lacey nodded again.

"I'm fine Rhys, really." Rhys nodded and moved his arm to hold her hand and squeezed it reassuringly as they headed towards the front door walking up the river rock driveway. The grass was green and it was surrounded by flowerbeds. The front door had a flowerbed of lilies and he saw Lacey eye them.

She opened the door and led him in. The inside of the house was painted light green and the house felt warm and inviting. Rhys couldn't help but admire the smell coming from the kitchen. He looked at Lacy who smiled and looked right back.

"Papa! I see you didn't kill my lilies!"

They heard the sound of footsteps coming around a corner and a man with red hair and blues eyes came around the corner wearing jeans and a suit jacket. He was a little taller than Lacey.

"A ghrá mo chroí, why would I ever do that?" He asked in a light accent with his eyebrow raised. Lacey threw herself at him and they embraced.

"Hi daddy!! I missed you, sorry for Sunday. I totally spaced." Lacey said pulling back.

"Don't worry about it love, although your mother may have some choice words for you." Lacey rolled her eyes. She stared at his hair and gasped.

"Is that a gray hair?" Her father's mouth fell in horror.

"Where?" He patted his hair until Lacey burst into a fit of laughter. He scowled at her and muttered. "Malevolent child."

"Is everyone else outside? I want to introduce my friend once." She said glancing at Rhys.

"Yeah. Let's go out there." Lacey nodded and unconsciously took Rhys' hand. Rhys smiled as he walked through the spacious house and into the backyard. There was light R&B music playing and everyone was standing around and talking.

Lacey squeezed Rhys' hand. "Hey everybody! I want to introduce you to my friend." Everyone turned to look at Rhys and Lacey. "Everyone this is Rhys Wickliffe." Everyone started talking at once, "Hey, I'm not done. So impatient…" She muttered shaking her head. "That's my mom." Lacey pointed to a short woman by the grill. "My sister and her husband, Gregg, and my niece, Daphne." She pointed to a woman holding a baby with her head on the guys shoulder. "That's my brother and I don't know her." She pointed to the guy that glared at her and everyone laughed. The girl looked embarrassed. "And that's my aunt Silvia standing by my dad." She said nodding in the corner.

"Yes, Rhys is an author. No, we are not a couple. Yes, I got a promotion. Yes, Rhys and I are writing together. Any other questions I didn't cover?" Everyone looked at each other. "Good. Daddy you can come fawn over Rhys if you would like, I need to go speak with Victoria." She turned to Rhys, "I'll be back to save you in a bit, I need to talk to my sister." Rhys nodded as Lacey walked over and picked up Daphne and dragged Victoria out of her seat. He smiled now that she was back to her usual self.

Lacey's father walked over to him with a huge smile across his face. "Hello, Rhys, it is an honor to meet you."

"Really sir, the pleasure is all mine. You have an incredibly gifted daughter." Rhys told him.

"Call me Frank and that she is. Would you like to come to my office so we can speak a little more freely. It's a little loud out here with the music and all."

Rhys nodded. "Sure."

Frank led Rhys back through the patio doors and through the hallway he had come through by the front door. He took the first door on the right and held the door open for Rhys. Rhys walked in and was surprised at how lavishly decorated the office was. He had pictures of his family along the wall and a huge black desk in the middle of the room. Frank took a seat in one of the seats and waved his hand to the seat across from him. Rhys nodded and sat down.

Frank smiled at him. "You do know that she likes you, don't you?"

Rhys looked at Frank and resisted the urge to raise and eyebrow. "Who?"

Frank laughed, "My daughter, you do know that she fancies you right?"

"I don't think so. . ." Rhys said slowly.

"She does and you like her as well. But if I know my daughter, she'll fight to keep her professionalism. Work always comes first for her, you know, but I hope for both your sakes that you'll put professionalism aside."

"Is it that obvious that I like her?"

"I just saw the way that your face lit up when she took your hand," he paused, "Don't worry, I won't say anything. If she asks I'll say I sat gushing over you and your novels and I made you sign one of them."

Rhys exhaled. Frank moved from his seat and walked over to his bookshelf and pulled out "Unnamed Triviality" from its place and put it down on the desk. Rhys grabbed it and took a pen off of the desk to sign it.

"Just make sure that you don't hurt her when you do finally admit your feelings to each other. I know you aren't the type, I just want you to know." Rhys nodded and handed him the book so he could see the signature and message that he wrote.

Ǻ

Lacey was walking through her house towards her father's office. When she came back to the backyard she noticed their absence and she already knew where they were. She knocked on the door and her father called for her to come in. She opened the door and saw Rhys and her father sitting at the desk and talking. She smiled at them.

"Daddy, I hope you aren't making Rhys feel uncomfortable." Lacey put a hand on her hip and moved to stand behind him. She started messing up his hair.

"He did no such thing, Lacey. I signed his book." Rhys said pointing to the desk where his book was. Lacey reached for it but Rhys grabbed it before she could reach it.

Lacey narrowed her eyes. "Why can't I see it?"

"It's your father's book and his signed copy, not yours." Rhys pulled his arm back when she grabbed for it again.

"Papa, tell him to give it." Lacey whined and stuck her lip out.

Rhys looked at her and laughed while her father put his arms in the air. "It's his decision, princess not mine."

Rhys smiled at her frustration. "You really do abuse being the youngest don't you?"

Lacey glared at him, "Hey, I take offense to that period boy."

"The truth does hurt sometimes, doesn't it, _princess_?" Rhys made sure he emphasized princess. Lacey felt a surge of anger.

"You know what Rhys you can kiss my –"

"I'm pretty sure dinner is almost ready, why don't we go into the dining room." Frank cut into the conversation, his eyes twinkling with suppressed laughter. He took the book from Rhys' hand and put it back in its place.

"Come on lets go to the table." Frank said pushing them out of the office and into the hallway.

"Great now we must entertain Jack's new flavor of the month, oh joy." Lacey's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Lacey, please keep it civil. I really don't want you two to argue tonight." Frank said as they turned the corner and moved into the dinning room. The table was set up like it always is a whit linen cloth and the plates and glasses at each setting ready to be used. The food sat in the middle of the table where it would be passed around the table. Frank sat at the head of the table and there were two empty seats left between Lacey's mother and Victoria. Lacey sat beside her sister and Rhys next to Lacey's mother.

"It's great to see everyone tonight, especially since someone missed Victoria's congratulatory dinner on Sunday." Lacey and her mother locked eyes and then she continued to speak. "Does anybody have anything new this month that they would like to announce?"

Lacey cleared her throat. "Next month I'm going to be going to the U.K. with Rhys so we can write our novel. I'll be there a couple of months, but I promise to call and –" Jack let out a snort which Lacey politely ignored but met with a glare across the table. Victoria's husband elbowed him to get him to be quiet and Jack's date looked confused by his behavior. ". . .so I'll be gone in two weeks." Victoria patted Lacey's thigh in comfort.

"Well, that's a surprise. I hope you'll be back before you leave." Lacey nodded. "Anyone else?" She paused, "No, well let's eat." Everyone began piling up their plates with food. Mashed potatoes, collard greens, macaroni, and roast beef were passed around the table along with grilled ears of corn. All that was heard was the clanking of plates and various versions of "Thanks" were heard as the food was passed around.

Jack took it upon himself to break the silence, "So sis, how long are you going to be gone for? 9 months?"

Rhys' hand immediately squeezed her thigh in a silent plea to ignore her brother's comment, but Lacey couldn't hold her tongue. "You know Jack, as many sluts as you fuck on a daily basis, I wouldn't be surprised if you have every STD in the world, not to mention how many bastard children you have fathered that are running around."

"Hmm. . . speaking of pregnancy, how many abortions are you up to now?" A collective gasp was heard around the room and Lacey dropped her fork.

She glared at him and everyone froze speechless at the two siblings at each others throats in front of them. Lacey stood up and threw her napkin on her half eaten food. She walked towards her father's office and flattened her back against the wall breathing deeply to contain the anger that was strongly coursing through her body. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall.

She heard Rhys as he walked into the office and shut the door. He didn't speak, he though it was best to just stay quiet and leave her amidst her thoughts. Lacey exhaled again. "It's not true, you know?" She stated flatly as she leaned back, her eyes still closed. "It was a rumor that got so out of control that I had to switch High School's." She exhaled again and opened her eyes to see a worried look across Rhys' handsome features. Rhys opened his mouth to speak, but Lacey cut him off. "I'm fine, I just needed a breather before I said something I didn't mean." Rhys nodded.

"Did you want to leave, I'm sure your parents won't mind." Rhys asked as he moved closer to her wall.

"Yeah, I need to apologize first, though." Lacey said while pushing off the wall. Rhys nodded and led the way out of the office. Lacey and Rhys entered the quiet dinning room and were welcomed by the stares of everyone in the room.

Lacey looked at her brother's date and gave a polite smile.

"I didn't mean to offend you, I'm sorry that I called you a slut, I don't even know you. I shouldn't have let my anger get the better of me and I apologize." The girl nodded and gave her a small smile back, Lacey couldn't help but think that it was out of pity.

There was a long stretch of silence and both Jack and Lacey were avoiding one another's eyes, basically trying to pretend the other wasn't in the room.

Silvia stood up and threw her dark hair over here shoulder. She glared at Jack and hugged Lacey tightly and turned back to the table. "Jack, what you said was completely uncalled for. This petty bullshit between you two needs to end. It's been three years. All you two do is fight. Everyone is getting tired of you attitude Jack and tonight was the final straw. You just painted her a slut in front of two strangers and if you don't apologize right now, I'll go through your father's will and disinherit you so fast it'll make your head spin." Everyone watched as he glared at Lacey.

Lacey looked back at him, but didn't glare. "Silvia, he doesn't have to do anything that he doesn't want to. Let him be a petulant, spoiled child. I'm not going to indulge him anymore. As far as I'm concerned he means nothing to me." The room became extremely still and everyone's eyes were trained on Jack. Lacey moved to the table, where desserts had been placed and grabbed two cookies, handing one to Rhys who took it slowly.

"Now I have clothes to pack and according to someone in this room, an obstetrician appointment to attend, so you'll excuse me if I cut this dinner short. Thanks for showing Rhys how dysfunctional my family can be, I really appreciate the laughter and the pregnancy accusations, but I gotta go." Lacey walked over to her father and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Bye papa, I'll call you." She then walked over and gave her sleeping niece a peck on the forehead and whispered, "See you next time, sweetie." She stood up patting her sister's shoulder and walked over to a still slightly stunned Rhys who still held the cookie in his hand.

"The food was delicious Mrs. McNevin. I'll do exactly as I said I would Frank." Her father nodded and her mother made a poor attempt at a smile as Lacey's fingers laced through Rhys' and she practically bolted out of the house with him trailing behind.

Ǻ

The car was quiet and had been for the last half hour. Rhys wanted to ask if she was okay, but he thought it was a stupid question, so he opted for silence.

Lacey had her head pushed against the glass window of the car door and she was staring out at the cars as they passed on the freeway. She spoke all of the sudden. "Silvia is my dad's attorney. She's married to his accountant, my uncle Willy." Rhys nodded and another bout of silence resumed until Lacey broke the silence again. This time she turned to look at Rhys. He watched her from the corner of his eye as she took a deep breath.

"He wasn't always an asshole, Rhys. I remember that he used to watch Barney with me, because no one else would. He made me grilled cheese sandwiches in the summer. He even taught me how to play a couple of songs on his guitar. He was an amazing big brother, you have to believe that, but time passed and he changed. He was more distant and he just stopped caring. He moved out and on and I hadn't talked to him for a year. It wasn't from my lack of trying, he just never picked up." Rhys pulled the car over in front of her building, but she was so sucked into her story that she hadn't noticed.

"Then I just gave up. Two years ago I go to my best friend's house so we can carpool to work, I walk in and I see her and my brother naked on the couch. The catch of this little diatribe is that my best friend had been married for five years. Her husband walked in five minutes after me. Long story short, I haven't talked to her since and her divorce was finalized three months later. A friendship of fifteen years ruined with one night of drunken sex that I didn't even take part in. Needless to say my brother stressed to everyone that he did nothing wrong and we have been pissed at each other since." Lacey looked around and her eyes revealed her shock of being parked in front of house.

Rhys opened his mouth to respond to her story when she held up her hand. "I'm sorry for the way that everything happened tonight, Rhys. It was a stupid idea to go and I'm sorry you got sucked into my family problems. Thank you for signing that book for my dad. I am really grateful for that. I guess I'll see you bright and early tomorrow."

Rhys accepted her desperate move to get off of the subject of her family and smiled at her. "It was really no problem and I will pick you up tomorrow so we can pull together what we have written so far for the prologue and iron out character backgrounds. Yeah?"

Rhys saw her forced smile and he felt a strong urge to fix her pain. "Yeah, that will work fine, thanks Rhys."

He nodded and gave her hand a squeeze as she got out of the car and moved to the security door once she had it open, she waved to Rhys and crossed the threshold and moved into the building to get to her condo.

Rhys started the car and made a promise to himself. He never wanted to see her fake smile again. He looked at the door she went through once more before he pulled off and drove towards his hotel.


End file.
